Awesome Marriage Podcast

You may know Jeff Allen from one of his many comedy specials on DryBar Comedy, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, network TV and more. If you do, you know he can make you laugh about even the hard parts of life and marriage.   In today’s episode we get to go behind the scenes of some of the hardest seasons Jeff and his wife, Tami, experienced in their marriage, and how God brought hope, healing and redemption. Don’t miss this encouraging episode!    We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:  The *surprisingly* effective way Jeff’s comedian friend helped him find Jesus  What changed in Jeff and Tami’s  marriage when Jesus entered the picture  Jeff’s journey to sobriety and learning new coping mechanisms    *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    RESOURCES Get the rest of Jeff and Tami’s story in Jeff’s Book “Are We There Yet?: My Journey from a Messed Up to Meaningful Life.” Jeff’s comedy is a part of this year’s Online Marriage Retreat! Registration is open NOW so click over to learn more!  If it’s been a while since you felt sexy or were excited about your sex life, our 25-Day Think Sex Challenge will help you get back in the mood! Learn more HERE!  

Your mindset has a powerful impact on everything in your life - including your marriage. Is yours helping or hurting your marriage? Today Dr. Kim shares some sneaky ways your thoughts might be harming your marriage, without you even realizing it, as well as practical advice for how to overcome them.  We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.  Episode highlights include:  How to identify and correct unhealthy thought patterns  Why even our fleeting thoughts matter One thing that prevents many of us from being honest with God and with ourselves, and how to overcome it     *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    RESOURCES Work on healing your mindset with the “Cut the Criticism and Cultivate Companionship” Bible Reading plan on YouVersion   If you’re a One Thing Subscriber, you know all about Dr. Kim’s Daily Declarations already! If not, sign up HERE and receive a practical daily step each Monday-Friday to help you be intentional about building your marriage. If it’s been a while since you felt sexy or were excited about your sex life, our 25-Day Think Sex Challenge will help you get back in the mood! Learn more HERE! When you sign up for Dr. Kim’s weekly Dispatch email, you receive a copy of his Daily Declarations FREE as a sign up bonus!   

One reason marriage can be difficult is because it faces real spiritual opposition. 1 Peter 5:8 says the enemy is like “a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” who would love to destroy us and our marriages. But Christian couples can be confident that God is on our side, He is for us and He has the victory.  So how can we be on guard and ready to fight for our marriage, spiritually? Tune in today to learn how.  We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.  Episode highlights include:  Reasons why marriage is a target of spiritual attacks  Ways spiritual attacks can show up in marriage Steps to fight back and fight for your marriage in those times  *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    RESOURCES Dr. Kim shared his heart behind our Marriage Changers membership in today’s episode. Get more info on the membership HERE.   We are happy to have 50+ AM YouVersion plans. Here are the two we mentioned in this episode:  Learning to Apologize Well In Marriage  Praying Over your home  If you haven’t already, check out our perennial fave House Prayer Cards. They’re Like Dr. Kim’s scripture on the walls thing, but without needing to repaint!  Our 2-Week Couples Scripture Challenge helps you fight for your marriage by building the habit of getting into God’s Word together. 

How should the rhythms of our child’s season of life inform our parenting? How can your family rhythms and routines cultivate the kind of family atmosphere you are longing for in your household and set your child up for success? Today our special guest Nellie Harden helps you see where you are in this season of your child’s growing up years and how to parent well in this time.     We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:  The perspective shift to more peaceful parenting  Why to number the days of your child’s childhood  How our own perfectionism affects our kids and our parenting  The parenting shift we need in the second half of childhood  A practical way to reduce sibling strife   *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    RESOURCES Find Nellie’s book, learn more about the 6570 Family Project and more on her website   Here’s the article Nellie wrote for Focus on The Family that we loved: “Family on the Rocks!” Taking a few minutes a week to check up on your marriage is simple and effective with the Weekly Marriage Check Up Guide Our 27 Scripture Prayer Cards are both beautiful AND powerful!   

This time of year, so many families are thinking about how to make this new school year go even better than the last. You may be wondering how you can possibly build in helpful, healthy rhythms when you’re Already. So. Busy. If so, you do not want to miss this episode.  Today our guest Justin Earley shares how to build intentionality and meaning into your existing family habits.  We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:  What our messy attempts at forming good habits can communicate to our kids (you might be surprised!)  The perspective shift that lets you take advantage of your family’s existing habits for good  What does it actually mean to be a spiritual leader?  Practical advice for wives who want their husband to lead spiritually    *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    RESOURCES Hear more on these topics in Justin’s books:  The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms Made for People: Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship Find resources, writing an more from Justin at Justinwhitmelearley.com The Weekly Marriage Check Up Guide makes it simple to check in with your spouse each week.  

Ever wondered why you can’t break a habit you hate or form a new one you want to start? Today’s bonus episode is for you! Debra Fileta always brings wisdom and practical tools to help us connect spiritual practices with mental health and relationship health, and we’re delighted to have Debra back on the podcast with us today. We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:  Why issues seem to surface at unexpected times and what you can do about it The equation that leads to lasting change - and why most people get it wrong  How to effectively begin to break bad habits   *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    RESOURCES Debra has also been on these past episodes:  Choosing Marriage: Interview with Debra Fileta | Ep. 207 Love In Every Season: Interview with Debra Fileta | Ep. 411 Are You Really OK? With Special Guest Debra Fileta | Ep. 471 Oneness Vs. Codependency - What's the Difference? With Special Guest Debra Fileta | Ep. 511 We think you’ll love Debra’s new book, RESET: Powerful Habits to Own Your Thoughts, Understand Your Feelings, and Change Your Life Are you getting the Marriage Multiplier? It’s a quick weekly email from Dr. Kim that gives you ways to intentionally invest in your marriage. Sign up HERE.   

As we enter the fall season, it’s a great time to look at the routines in your life. This month we’re talking all about life-giving routines and rhythms. Sometimes in marriage, we can get into bad habits of conflict or miscommunication, BUT we can also use our habits and routines to build up our spouse and grow our marriage. Today we’re sharing some of our personal routines and family rhythms that help keep our marriages strong. We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.    Episode highlights include:   Dr. Kim’s personal routine and why it’s so important to him  The small things that don’t even feel like “things” – and why they matter so much  Practical ways to build the kind of culture you want to have in your marriage  *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!   RESOURCES:  If you’re not getting Dr. Kim’s One Thing daily email, sign up HERE!  The Weekly Marriage Check Up Guide makes it simple to check in with your spouse each week.   Get a better dinner experience when you bring good questions to the table with 52 Questions for Your Family Table

We talk to a lot of couples who don't know what makes them a great team. And if you don’t know what makes you a great team, how can you operate as one? All too often, opposites attract and it takes intentionality to tap into all that God has for you in the gift of your marriage. So today we’re talking about leaning into what makes you a uniquely gifted team in your marriage, and resolving the tension that comes from the ways we differ from our spouse.  We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.  Episode highlights include:  What are the common issues that keep couples from being a strong team?  Dr. Kim gives great ideas of creative solutions to issues  How to combat the competition that sometimes creeps into marriage We share ways we’ve personally done this in our marriages    *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!    RESOURCES Get the team conversation started with Team You & Me: A Guide to Approaching Your Marriage as a Team, a resource designed to help you be more intentional to tap into all God has for you in the gift of your marriage. Dr. Kim and Nancy’s book, Love, Intimacy and Sex in Second Half is out now! Grab your copy HERE!  Related episodes you might like:  What is Team Language? | Ep. 501 Make the Most of Your Differences with Special Guests Jay & Breona Washington | Ep. 476 Wives Edition: How to Ask For Help

Has marriage been harder than you thought it would be? We often say there’s hope for every marriage, no matter where you are today - and there truly is. But you may be wondering how exactly to hold on and fight for your marriage if you’re in a really hard season. Today, we are sharing Dr. Kim’s conversation with special guest Toni Nieuwhof.  Toni is an author, speaker and family law mediator, and she brings such hope and wisdom in today’s episode. Tune in for hope and help to make the future of your marriage better than today.  We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.  Episode highlights include:  The mental shift helped Toni and her husband keep fighting when their marriage was on the brink Practical steps they took to start healing  Common issues Toni sees couples divorce over  How to change your mental narrative about your marriage  *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!  RESOURCES Get more of Toni’s wisdom on this topic in her book, “Before You Split”  On her website at https://toninieuwhof.com/  And on the Smart Family Podcast  Are you willing to do what it takes to reset and renew your marriage? Fight for your marriage with the  Marriage 911 online course. Missed the other episodes of our summer Worth Repeating Series? So far we’ve aired:  Worth Repeating | Be Your Authentic Self in a Superficial World With Special Guest Sam Acho Worth Repeating | Breathe: Don’t Be Prickly Worth Repeating: Cultivating Curiosity & Courage with Special Guest Bob Goff

How can curiosity help you have an awesome marriage? How can you grow yourself and your marriage, even in the busyness and life’s changing seasons? As we share some of our favorite past episodes this summer, we are so happy to re-air Dr. Kim’s interview with Bob Goff. Bob and Dr. Kim talked about how to dream big, be courageous and grow closer with your spouse. Don’t miss their encouraging conversation today - it’s certainly worth repeating!  We pray this episode is helpful to you and your marriage.  Episode highlights include:  The role curiosity plays  in keeping you - and your marriage - interesting  Learning to align your dreams as a couple  What to do if you don’t have any big dreams to chase *Music for this podcast is created by Noah Copeland. Check him out here!  RESOURCES 27 Scripture Prayer Cards combine the power of prayer and the power of God’s Word, designed beautifully to help you invite God’s to work in your marriage Find Bob @ bobgoff.com Check out Maria’s new book, Love Lives Here Dr. Kim especially liked Bob’s book Everybody Always Missed the other episodes of our summer Worth Repeating Series? So far we’ve aired:  Worth Repeating | Be Your Authentic Self in a Superficial World With Special Guest Sam Acho Worth Repeating | Breathe: Don’t Be Prickly